1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to firearms and, more particularly, to bayonets for affixing to firearms.
2. Related Art
When an army unit anticipates a close quarter combat, the command “fix bayonets” may be given. Currently, carrying out this command requires a four-step procedure including the following steps as shown in sequence in FIGS. 1A through 1D.                1. Referring first to FIG. 1A, a soldier's non-firing hand 1 may hold a firearm 2 while the other or firing hand 3 may unsheathe a bayonet 4;        2. Next, as shown in FIG. 1B, using the firing hand 3, the bayonet 4 may be aligned and mounted to a bayonet lug 5 (FIG. 1A) of the firearm 2;        3. Further, as shown in FIG. 1C, with the firing hand 3, the bayonet 4 may be locked by movement of the firing hand 3 in the direction of arrow 6 along the bayonet lug 5 of the firearm 2; and        4. Finally, referring to FIG. 1D, the firing hand 3 may be returned to a pistol grip 7 or stock 8 of the firearm 2.        
It will be noted that each of these steps mandate use of a firing hand. If the enemy surprised and rushed a soldier from a short distance, the soldier may not have sufficient time to either complete all of the steps necessary to fix a bayonet or even to move the firing hand to engage a trigger of the firearm. In such a case, or where the soldier is also out of ammunition, the soldier may be forced into combat using the firearm as a club. Also, it is evident that these steps are not easily accomplished by a soldier who is running or even moving slowly.
It will also be recognized that during fighting with a bayonet, the knuckles of the non-firing hand are not protected by the current configuration of handguards on many firearms.
Previous attempts to develop firearm bayonets are noted. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,314,672 describes an automatic bayonet that may be released by trigger action. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a trigger controls extension of a blade via action of a helical spring. It will be noted that this bayonet assembly suffers from the drawback that the trigger may be touched by accident, e.g. during cleaning of the firearm resulting in possible non-combat injuries.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 51,690 describes a firearm including a bayonet that is slid between two positions. With particular reference to FIG. 8, the bayonet slides in sockets made beneath the barrel, and is secured or locked in two different positions by means of a bolt passing through the inner end of the bayonet and secured by a spring that is said to press it constantly against the barrel so as to lock the bolt in one or the other of two holes drilled in the barrel. This configuration suffers from the drawback of requiring removal of a hand from supporting the barrel of the gun in order to retract the bolt from one hole and then to push and extend the bayonet from the firearm. Also, there is no protection for the knuckles during use of the bayonet.
Accordingly, to date, no suitable bayonet assembly is available which provides for rapid extension of a bayonet blade while also allowing for adequate control over the firearm during extension of the blade. It is also found that no suitable bayonet assembly is available which provides adequate protection for the knuckles of the non-firing hand during combat with the blade.